New 2,300-capacity club to open in former East London venue, The Rex
A new 2,300-capacity club is opening in the building that once housed East London venue, The Rex.
Dubbed ‘Jazz Café East’ on Newham Council’s website, the venue will open in 2027 and is the brainchild of The Jazz Café, Phonox and Maiden Voyage Festival operators, Colombo Group. Once operational, the company says “a wide range of artists” will be platformed at the address, supporting Stratford development as “an entertainment hub”.
“The Rex has been part of London’s musical heritage, and we’re delighted to have the opportunity both to breathe life back into it and to grow our portfolio of spaces,” said Steve Ball, CEO of The Columbo Group.
Built in 1896, The Rex was originally a theatre and opera house, but turned into a cinema in 1933. Post-war, films continued to be shown until 1969, before the address became a bingo hall and nightclub, becoming a regular electronic music venue in the 1990s until its final closure in 2011. Abandoned for years, Newham Council took ownership in 2013 and used the building as a meanwhile office and café space through to 2023, although the 40,000 square foot property has been up for sale since 2015.
“Jazz Café East promises to let residents in Newham have world class entertainment on their doorstep. It is a show of confidence for the future of the borough, which will bring with it jobs and prosperity,” said Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz OBE.
“Businesses are waking up to see all that the borough and its people have to offer,” she continued. “It is vitally important to get the right partners in as part of our Building Newham’s Creative Future cultural strategy which is a big part of our plans for Building a Fairer Newham.”
In addition to the venue, Newham has also confirmed £2.9 million of National Lottery Heritage Fund money which will create new affordable studios for artists inside the North Block of Alice Billing House. On top of rehearsal, recording and practice rooms, this will also include a public café, gallery and courtyard space.
In 2024, the book STEP IN TIME: Conversations with Kenny ‘Sting’ King was published. The largely first-hand chronicle looks at one of 1990s rave’s most prolific promoters, a Deja Vu FM member and onetime owner of The Rex in Stratford. The venue also features in Sound Waves: Music In Newham, an online project celebrating 60 years of tunes, parties and artists based in and around the London borough.
